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It's a known fact that Mark Waid hates print comics and wants to see them fail so they can be replaced by his nefarious Thrillbent digital comics. He knows it. We know it. Larry Dohertyreally knows it. That's why Waid refuses to do any work for Big Two print comics, and why he is constantly telling people how he hates print comics and wants to destroy them. It's also why he's recently bought a comic shop.

From a Thrillbent blog post:

Meanwhile, I–having to, on a daily basis, explain to most of the industry that championing digital comics with Thrillbent isn’t the same as “hating print”–had been thinking long and hard about what I’ve been preaching for a while, that print and digital can not only co-exist but feed one another for the overall health of the comics business. It sounds good to say, and I believe it–but with Thrillbent, I had the tools to actually prove only half that equation.

See? He says that championing digital comics is the same thing as hating print, and there's no way the two can coexist. It's right there in black and white.

So I’ve put my money where my mouth is. Effective immediately, you can trust me when I say I want comics retailers to thrive, because now I am one. I said, I AM ONE. (I had to raise my voice there a little to drown out the screams of rage from anti-Thrillbent retailers like Phil Boyle. Hi, Phil!) Along with my partner in life and now in business, Christy Blanch, I’m logging inventory on Tuesdays and running the register on weekends and navigating the ordering process at our brand new location. This isn’t a vanity purchase, a symbolic gesture, or a silent partnership; Christy, Jason and I are each equal shareholders in Alter Ego Comics. I have skin in the game, and I’m eager to see what there is to learn about the only side of the industry I’ve never involved myself with.

My god. He's infiltrated an actual store and will destroy the retail market from within. We cannot trust this man when he says he wants retailers to thrive. Is there no limit to his one man crusade to replace all print comics with cheap digital versions and put thousands of retailers out of business?!

So what is the end game here? According to Waid, there's more to come, which he will reveal on Thursday. He really is like a supervillain who, having captured the heroes (retailers), is slowly torturing them while revealing his evil plans.

Why, Mark Waid?! Why?! Why do you hate print comics?!

Whatever you do, don't head over to Thrillbent and check out Mark Waid's digital comics, many of which are available at the despicable, retailer-crushing price of free! However, if you really want to stick it to him and you live in the Muncie, Indiana area (and if you do, our sincerest condolences), then you should head over to his new shop, Alter Ego Comics, and spend as much money on physical comic books there as possible. That'll show Waid. It'll really show him.

The reason most Thrillbent comics are free is that the entire venture has been subsidized through the sale of--yep, actual print comics! Mark Waid's massive and valuable golden/silver age collection, in fact. Real physical objects actually worth something.

The site itself has yet to actually make money. Which is what the comics shop is for, I'm guessing--more subsidy.

Wait, is Christy Blanch the woman who sobbed silently to herself while Mark Waid defecated on the theater floor after tearing off his shirt and flicking underarm sweat on the movie screen at the end of Man of Steel?

As for free comics, Mark could work harder to promote local library networks. You can get a lot of stuff free and in print from the library. And, it's financed by taxes, so the less you have, the less you have to pay. If only Netflix worked like that....

Wait, each of those offers a backlog of strips going back almost a decade, if not more?

Never mind...

It's been over twelve months since I started purchasing digital comics on ComiXology. Heck, I think it's been about two years. Everything's still there.

I mean, it's a concern. If ComiXology disappears or the publishers pull their support for ComiXology, then I'm guessing I've lost my paid for digital comics? I don't know. This is why I rarely buy them at full price. Also: I am cheap.